On paper, the concept of EA developing an arcade-style boxing title looks fantastic. It turns out to be a thing of beauty, but has gameplay as thin as that sheet of paper. The rapid-fire button-mashing action of FaceBreaker makes it a twisted combination of a boxing game and a fighting game. The problem is that it works poorly as either. It lacks the nuance of a boxing game, with punches flying about as a hummingbird flutters its wings, and the control depth of a fighting game. The simplistic control scheme fails to include combos, leaving you pounding away on the buttons without purpose.
The boxers' lack of mobility is also an issue, with your movement limited to a 2D plane and sluggish movements. There is a 'dash' ability, tapping the left stick in the direction you want to move, but it is badly unresponsive. The lack of depth continues to the decent-sized roster of boxers. Though the cartoony caricatures look different enough, they all play the same. The unique art style of the game is a microcosm of the game itself, style without substance.
The gameplay has all the depth of Punch Out, with similarly thumb-cramping play. Despite the wealth of buttons, FaceBreaker uses only two to throw punches and a third to activate the massive 'breaker' attacks. With only low or high punches available, they aim the controls for the lowest common denominator to a fault. Holding either punch button allows you to dodge the matching attack, with the button's release delivering a charged-up punch. The right-trigger handles blocking, with parrying available by blocking and hitting the correct punch button at the right time. It works fine if you get the timing right, but the pace of the game makes it tough to master. Things happen so quickly that you almost never have the time to use the 'breaker' attacks you work so hard to build up.
With each successive punch you land, a 'breaker' meter begins to fill in the lower left-hand corner of the screen. Each time your meter reaches a new block, it changes the 'breaker' attack available to you to a more powerful one. The all-powerful 'FaceBreaker', the highest-level 'breaker' attack, trumps the typical three-knockdown rules of the game, and instantly ends the fight in a knockout when landed. The overt the top animations of the breakers are fun, but the computer seems much more able to use them. The attacks require the character to take a wind-up, of varying lengths, before throwing the blow. With the rapid-fire pace of the action, the computer always seems to thwart your 'breaker' attacks with a punch, or three, of their own. Sadly, your attempts to destroy their wind-ups seem too little too late, sending you to the canvas frequently.
